Chapter 45 - Formation of Nouns

 Generalities: 

You must have noticed that many nouns and verbs come from the same root. For example, the root "hees" gives: heesid = to sing, heesa = a singer, heeso = a song, heesto = a female singer, heesitaan = singing.
The root "beer" gives: beer = a field, beerid = to cultivate, beerale = a cultivator, beeraley = a female cultivator, or "the cultivators" (as a whole), beeritaan = plantation.

In this chapter, we will see how nouns are formed in Somali from verbs or other nouns, less frequently from adjectives, by adding different suffixes to them. We will also try to understand the meaning of these suffixes.

 1. Nouns derived from a verb: 

 suffix -aa : 

 suffix -aal : 

 suffix -asho : 

The suffix -asho is generally added to a verb derived in the self-benefactive form ending in -o, which disappears in the presence of -a at the beginning of -asho.

The resulting noun from this suffixation has a general character. For example, barasho = knowledge. This noun is used in the expression barasho wanaagsan = "nice to meet you".

 suffix -itaan : 

 suffix -to : 

 2. Nouns derived from another noun : 

 suffix -ad : 

The suffix -ad feminizes the names of professions or occupations. They are added to the original noun, sometimes modifying the ending. For example: macaallin = teacher, becomes macaallimad = a female teacher.

 suffices -le, ley, leh : 

The suffixes -le, -ley, and -leh indicate ownership, mainly concerning professions. They are added to the original noun.

The suffix -le concerns men. It indicates that they own a business, an enterprise, or a skill. It can even, in some cases, distinguish the owner from the employee. For example, doobbi is a laundry worker, while doobbile is the owner of the laundry.

The suffix -ley concerns women. It is the feminine counterpart of -le. Thus dawaarle is a male tailor, and dawaarley is a female tailor.
But the suffix -ley can also represent a group of men: xoolaley = male cattle herders, an activity reserved for men!

The suffix -leh indicates an additional degree of possession compared to -le: geel (= camels) -> geelleh = a camel owner.

 suffix -(o)ole : 

The suffix -(o)ole often applies to people that suffer from some physical deficiency.

 suffix -so: 

The suffix -so is a feminine marker for job titles. It substitutes the original masculine ending -ye.

 suffix -to: 

The suffix -to is a feminine marker for job titles. It substitutes the original masculine ending.

 3. Nouns derived from an adjective: 

MACAAN = sweet -> macaane = "sweetheart" (addressing a girl) / macaano = "sweetheart" (addressing a boy) -> macmacaan = sweets -> macmacaanle = confectioner, sweet seller / macmacaanley = confectioner, sweet seller (female).

 4. Compound Nouns: 

 5. Juxtaposed Nouns: 

 6. Nouns derived from "shaqo" = work: 

• shaqo + gacan -> shaqocameed = manual labor.
• shaqo + jooji -> shaqojoojiin = strike.
• shaqo + yar -> shaqoyaraan = underemployment.
• shaqo + la'aan -> shaqola'aan = unemployment.
• shaqo + marmar + ah -> shaqo marmar ah = casual employment.
• dheraadka shaqoyinta = overtime.
• shaqaale [-yaal] = worker.
• ururka shaqaalaha = labor union.
• dhar shaqaale = overalls, workwear.
• shaqayste [-yaal] = workaholic, hard worker.
• ma + shaqayste -> mashaqayste [-yaal] = slacker, lazy person.